History
Development
''Hall's Pictorial Weekly'' had its origins in the daily regional news magazine '' Newsbeat'', which ran between 1964 and 1971. The programme was noted for concentrating on colourful characters and off-beat reportage, as well as occasional comedy sketches. According to Hall, it occurred to him one day that he would be much more the master of the situation if he simply sat at home and wrote sketches, instead of looking for stories around the country.Beginnings
The first episode of ''Hall's Pictorial Weekly'' aired on 29 September 1971. Set in the offices of a mythical provincial newspaper in the fictional town of Ballymagash, it initially continued to cover offbeat regional news in the manner of ''Newsbeat'', but gradually gave over more time towards comedy sketches and parodies. In testament to the show's popularity, the term "Ballymagash-style politics" quickly became common parlance as a shorthand way of describing the type of "parish-pump" politics which became one of its key satirical targets.''The Irish Times'', "How Ballymagash became part of folk culture", 4 December 2004Political satire
''Hall's Pictorial Weekly'' was at its strongest during the 1973–1977 term of the Fine Gael- Labour Party coalition government. So sharp and constant was its satirical send up of the government ministers of the time, that it is generally accepted that the programme played an important part in bringing the coalition into disrepute and perhaps even contributed to bringing it down. Ireland at the time had a very volatile economic situation and the show spared no political expense in portraying the thenTitle Tune
The title tune is called Timothy" taken from the album "More Music From Peter Gunn. The soundtrack album to the TV series Peter Gunn, composed and conducted by Henry ManciniEnding
In April 1980, RTÉ decided not to go ahead with the planned tenth series of ''Hall's Pictorial Weekly'' due for transmission in the following May and June. Effectively the show was axed, although no clear statement about the programme's demise was made by the broadcaster.''The Irish Times'', "RTE scraps Ballymagash", 9 April 1980Commercial release
In 2004, a DVD featuring highlights from the series was released under the title, ''The Very Best of Hall's Pictorial Weekly (Vol 1)''. A second volume ''The Very Best of Hall's Pictorial Weekly (Vol 2)'' was released a few years later.Broadcast dates
Series
See also
* List of satirical television news programsReferences
External links